Rochester Public Utilities | Blog

Archive for the ‘Employees’ Category

RPU names Krista Boston new Director of Customer Relations

Thursday, May 24th, 2018

Krista Boston joins RPU with a close to 25-year career with the state focusing on services redesign and leadership in designing innovative services for  Minnesota citizens of many ages, abilities and backgrounds in partnership with counties, cities, nonprofits and providers of health and human services.

Boston has a law degree and maintains voluntary non-practice status.  Through her work at the state and in collaboration with many local partners, her career has focused on seeking ways to build service delivery models that help people get access to information to make important decisions, as well as get support and advocacy through a variety of means.  Her work includes websites, face to face programs, call center services and other ways to provide information that is easy to understand and accessible.  She sees this as key to her work at RPU leading the customer relations and marketing groups.

She was most recently the Director of Consumer Assistance Programs for the Minnesota Board on Aging and through that, and other roles, led visible projects over the years that included services redesign efforts for the elderly, children, people in crisis and veterans.  Boston is also an adjunct faculty at Metropolitan State University teaching instructional design and staff development.

About Rochester Public Utilities

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers.  Water customers number more than 40,000.  RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive.  Current initiatives include photovoltaic offerings, wind energy, energy and water efficient equipment, and electric vehicle charging.

 

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New Director of Power Resources Hired

Wednesday, March 21st, 2018

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) announced today the promotion of Jeremy Sutton as the new Director of Power Resources.

Sutton served in the United States Marine Corps from 1995 to 2001. After his military service, he was a Senior Plant Operator for Air Products and Chemicals in Southern California, which is a steam methane reforming hydrogen production facility with cogeneration.

He started at Rochester Public Utilities as a system operator and then moved up to the role of Chief System Operator. In 2009, Sutton was tasked with starting a new department at RPU, managing MISO (Mid-continent Independent System Operators) market activities.

Sutton has a BA in Business Management and is a NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) Reliability Coordinator Certified Operator.

He takes over for longtime RPU employee Walter Schlink, who retired earlier this month. 

About Rochester Public Utilities

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers.  Water customers number more than 37,000.  RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive.  Current initiatives include photovoltaic offerings, wind energy, energy and water efficient equipment, and electric vehicle charging.

 

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New Director of Compliance and Public Affairs Hired

Monday, June 27th, 2016

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) announced today the hiring of Steven Nyhus as the new Director of Compliance and Public Affairs.

Nyhus comes to RPU with over 15 years of experience assisting local governments and industries with water quality and energy compliance matters.  He has represented large and small communities and corporate entities with environmental permitting matters for wastewater and stormwater, environmental review, and related topics, and served as Minnesota regulatory counsel for a municipal power agency.  He is also a familiar face around the Minnesota Legislature and state environmental and energy regulatory agencies.

Prior to joining RPU, Nyhus has held positions with the Minnesota House of Representatives, the Flaherty & Hood law firm in St. Paul, and most recently with the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.

A Minnesota native, Nyhus has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Minnesota State University – Moorhead, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School.  He was admitted to practice law in Minnesota in 1999 and is currently the treasurer of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section. 

About Rochester Public Utilities

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers.  Water customers number more than 37,000.  RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive.  Current initiatives include photovoltaic offerings, wind energy, energy and water efficient equipment, and electric vehicle charging.

 

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New Director of Corporate Services Hired

Tuesday, October 7th, 2014

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) announced today the hiring of Peter Hogan as the new Director of Corporate Services.

In his new role, Hogan will be responsible for operations in accounting, information technology, business services, and purchasing.

Hogan has held positions as Controller, Chief Technology Officer, and Contract Controller/CFO where he implemented quality control and board reporting metrics, developed detailed five year budgeting and cash flow models by lines of business, prepared weekly forecasts for a $1.5 billion publicly traded company, delivered quarterly reports and monthly financial variance analysis along with key performance indicators.

Hogan also oversaw the design and implementation of high availability systems and redundant IT infrastructure to support 24/7 online banking, ATM’s, and cash management. In addition, he led the implementation of compliance requirements including system security, customer information, incident response, business continuity, and vendor management.

Most recently, he served as a Contract Controller/CFO with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in Rochester.

Hogan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, Summa cum Laude along with additional studies in computer science from Winona State University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

The official start date for Hogan was September 15.

About Rochester Public Utilities

 

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 120 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers. Water customers number more than 38,000. RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive. Current initiatives include smart grid, water sustainability, wind power, and photovoltaic offerings.

 

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New Director of Core Services Hired

Friday, August 15th, 2014

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) announced today the hiring of Sidney Jackson as the new Director of Core Services.

In his new role, Jackson will be responsible for operations in the water and electric utilities. This will include overseeing all electric distribution and transmission, water supply and its distribution, system operations and engineering.

Jackson comes to RPU with over 20 years of various utility experience with Ameren Energy and Xcel Energy including positions as a power plant maintenance engineer, Manager of Strategic Planning, several bulk electric system roles, and various Energy Trading and Portfolio Optimization roles.

Most recently, he served as the Director of Client Relations for MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) out of their St. Paul office.

Jackson has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri. He also holds a NERC RC operating license.

The official start date for Jackson will be August 18.

 

About Rochester Public Utilities

 

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 120 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers. Water customers number more than 38,000. RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive. Current initiatives include smart grid, water sustainability, wind power, and photovoltaic offerings.

 

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